A nurse is preparing to administer hydralazine to a client with severe pre-eclampsia who has a blood pressure of 170/110 mmHg.

What is the expected outcome of this medication?

To lower blood pressure.Hydralazine is an antihypertensive drug that is used to treat severe hypertension in pre-eclampsia.It works by relaxing the blood vessels and reducing the resistance to blood flow.

This helps to lower the blood pressure and prevent complications such as stroke, kidney damage, or placental abruption.

Choice A is wrong because hydralazine does not prevent seizures.

Seizures are a symptom of eclampsia, a more severe form of pre-eclampsia.To prevent seizures, magnesium sulfate is usually given intravenously.

Choice C is wrong because hydralazine does not increase urine output.In fact, it may cause fluid retention and edema as a side effect.Diuretics are drugs that increase urine output, but they are not recommended for pre-eclampsia because they may worsen the condition by reducing blood volume and placental perfusion.

Choice D is wrong because hydralazine does not improve placental perfusion.

Placental perfusion is the blood flow to the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the fetus.

Placental perfusion may be impaired in pre-eclampsia due to abnormal development of the placental blood vessels.Hydralazine does not affect the placental blood vessels directly, but it may improve placental perfusion indirectly by lowering the maternal blood pressure and reducing the risk of abruption.

However, this is not the primary or expected outcome of hydralazine therapy.

Magnesium sulfate.Magnesium sulfate is thedrug of choiceto prevent and treat seizures in people with severe preeclampsia and eclampsia.It is an anticonvulsant medication that reduces the risk of eclampsia by 50%.

Choice A is wrong because hydralazine is a blood pressure medication that can lower blood pressure in people with preeclampsia or eclampsia, but it does not prevent seizures.

Choice B is wrong because nifedipine is another blood pressure medication that can lower blood pressure in people with preeclampsia or eclampsia, but it does not prevent seizures.

Choice D is wrong because diazepam is an anticonvulsant medication that was previously used to treat eclamptic seizures, but it has been replaced by magnesium sulfate as the preferred drug due to its better safety and efficacy.Diazepam can also cause sedation and respiratory depression in the mother and the fetus.

Normal ranges for blood pressure are below 140/90 mm Hg, for proteinuria are below 300 mg/24 hours, for platelet count are 150,000 to 450,000 per microliter, for liver enzymes are 7 to 56 units per liter for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and 10 to 40 units per liter for aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and for magnesium levels are 1.5 to 2.5 mEq/L.